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The Discipline of 100 Breaths

Go ahead. Try it. It really only takes 100 breaths to change your mental state. Believe me, I am not the best role model for meditation, relaxation or contemplation. Being busy doing what I love is as satisfying as it is stressful for me. I can go for weeks without really stopping – which is probably not a good thing.

Eventually, we do need to stop – and finding ways to do that can be very challenging – and consequently many of us fail to find the time, focus or energy to integrate those healthful ways of being into our daily lives.

But what if I told you it takes less than 2 minutes to stop completely and relax your mind, body and spirit? Through the Discipline of 100 Breaths you can disengage from:

Stress Fear Tension Grief Anger Worry Fighting

Obsession Demands of others Perfections Cravings

Anxiety Hostility Frustration Agitation Overexcitement

-and whatever else is charging up your inner state.

If you can do three things and ONLY three things you can change your internal state:

1 Find a quiet place to stand, sit or lie down and close your eyes.

2 Take 100 breaths – in and out, in and out. Not fancy deep breaths, – it really doesn’t matter how long they are as long as you don’t hyperventilate! Just 100 normal breaths.

3 (Now here’s the hard part) ONLY Breathe. When you focus on breathing, you might have a thought or two about life itself, but the only thing you are ‘tracking’ is your breathing (thus the count) Just pay attention to your breathing alone for 100 breaths. No planning, worrying, fretting about one thing or another. Literally for a moment.

That final step is difficult and some of us will fail it – usually because our anxiety is so extreme or our ability to focus is impaired or undisciplined. But if you fail the first time, you can train your brain to cooperate with some practice.